Many people have the desire to create an Android App, but they don’t know where to get started. Learning a programming language such as Java involves getting past a significant learning curve. If only there were a simple way to make a basic application to get a feel for Android development; and then view the code to understand the structure. Luckily, there is.

In this video, XDA Elite Recognized Developer AdamOutler talks about a newly open-sourced application called Illumination Software Creator, or ISC—not to be confused with Ice Cream Sandwich, Android’s latest version. This powerful software utility can generate code in a similar manner to Google and MIT’s App Inventor. An exciting feature is that Illumination Software Creator exports actual code, which allows you to continue developing outside of the Illumination Software Creator environment.

This video is part of our How to Build an Android App series. Be sure to check out the following videos to learn more about building an Android application:

Join us in a fun Sunday Debate on Compromises. Come with your opinions and feel free to read some of our thoughts, then pick your side or play devil’s advocate to get your voice heard and engage in friendly discussion. You can read our food-for-thought or jump straight into the fray below! Getting an upgrade is a big deal to us power users: it’s our little Android Christmas, where after a long time (for plenty of us, at least)...

The Note 4 never had the fastest Recents Menu, and despite its 3GB of RAM, its app-holding capabilities only got worse on Lollipop. The infamous RAM bug that plagued the S6 is indeed an annoyance on the Note 4's 5.0.X ROMs. Rumors of an update to fix all of this were confirmed with the first reports of the 5.1.1 update for the Russian Note 4, which seemingly improved the Recents Menu and RAM management. But it'll be a long time...

Apps are at the front and center of any smartphone experience, and with over a million apps on the Google Play Store and new apps being submitted to our forums every day, staying up to date on the latest apps and games can be a hassle. At XDA we don’t discriminate apps - if it’s interesting, innovative, original or useful, we mention them. The XDA Portal Team loves apps too, and here are our top picks for this week. ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (AT&T) [N900A]

OnePlus One (Unlocked)

HTC One M9 (Unlocked)

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